No one can accuse of Andrew Ference of failing to throw all of his body parts into the action in pursuit of victory for the Bruins.

It’s just a little unusual that maybe his most famous extremity during the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup championship was his finger.

Yes, Ference’s famous one-finger flip-off of the fans of Montreal after his goal put Boston ahead, 3-2, in Game 4 of the Bruins’ first-round series against the Canadiens cost him a $2,500 fine. But it also earned him a permanent spot in the hearts of Bruins fans worldwide.

Of course, Ference contributed much more to the Bruins’ cause all season, as he matched his regular-season goal total during the playoff run, was often the first Boston player to come to the defense of a teammate that was questionably hit, and was among the leaders who kept the locker room together during hard times.

Some might’ve had a problem with his classifying of Danie Paille’s hit on Raymond Sawada as the type of hit the league wants to get rid of, but sometimes the truth isn’t pretty. And goal celebrations can be ugly as well. To the Bruins and their fans, though, Ference’s dirty salute was a beautiful thing during a brilliant championship run.

Best regular-season moment: In early-season sign that if he stayed healthy Ference could do a lot of things to help Boston, Ference blocked a shot to start the play on the Bruins’ tying goal against St. Louis Nov. 6. He didn’t earn an assist and the Bruins lost the game in a shootout, but that play — along with his fight with David Backes in defense of a leveled Mark Recchi — showed there were a lot of ways Ference could contribute to a championship-caliber squad.

Best playoff moment: His goal and salute against the Habs were epic, but his biggest game by far was Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against Vancouver. He was credited with six hits and he added a goal and an assist to boot. He also earned a 10-minute misconduct for scuffling with Daniel Sedin during a physical game that Boston used to show it wouldn’t be ushered out of the Final easily.

Worst moment: One game prior to Ference’s all-around outstanding performance in Game 3, he struggled on the road in Game 2. Two of his giveaways led directly to goals, including the one that Alex Burrows scored to end the game just 11 seconds into overtime.

Regular-season grade: B-plusPlayoff grade: A-minus. He had his share of miscues, but he managed to make up for them (and was often saved by goaltender Tim Thomas). His leadership was difficult to quantify.

Carnac predicts … in what will probably be his last season with the Bruins before the team trades his cap-friendly contract to make room for younger, cheaper blueliners, Ference will continue to be a solid second- or third-pair defenseman and locker room sage.

You can count me as one of the individuals who wasn’t too enthusiastic when Ference signed his extension – but that was mostly because he hadn’t played 60 games in any of the previous 3 seasons, and we were extremely tight against the cap.

Other than the first couple games against Montreal, and a few trying moments against TBay, the guy had a tremendous postseason. His leadership has been extremely valuable. Definitely happy he stayed, this turned out to be another savvy move by PC.

Karl,
If I recall, he signed a 3 yr extension a year ago and we were all mad about the amount and term of the extension and yest he did have a great year. Yes Thorton is 30 lbs heavier, bu more than once have I seen Thorton take down a guy several inches taller and at least 40lbs heavier (think Boogaard, McGrattan). Also managed to come back and play after getting slashed in the face with a skate (inccidental contact by pisani) and tried to fight the person who said something quite stupid on the Hawks bench then and there. It’s not that AF isn’t tough, god knows he fights like a man possessed. I still remember when he got in a fight with a blues player, and as the player was sagging to the ice, he pulled him clean onto his feet, but I still think thorton is the toughest. Also is injured less.

You would also do well to read other people comments, karl. You’ve been on here a while and so have I. I don’t appreciate being called a bandwagoner. Your opinions tend to be unorthodox (like ALL your line combinations) Few of which make real sense. I take you for emotional, but if you want to call me a bandwagoner, you may as well add yourself and pretty much everyone on this site to the list in order to make that statement true.

@Pierre. If you hadn’t replied by this morning I was going to call your neighbours and see if the mail was stacking up. The next call would be fire and rescue. I’ve gotten over the Paille incident and have come to realize he’s not a bad guy. In the end what didn’t kill this team made them stronger.

I appreciate your posts and your loyalty. Your sensibilities are an asset to this great site.

Andrew Ference has always been one of the most valuable members of the blueline and. Great guy, great player, underrated in so many regards. If this guy is on your third pairing you’ve got a great defensive group.

Nice job Matt. This was a very clear-sighted evaluation of a player that for some reason people don’t always seem to see too clearly.

My favorite reg season moment was in a Dec game against the Thrasher, when he jumped in to start a melee after a cheap shot on Lucic. I had already been coming around to appreciating his solid play this season, but that was a light bulb for me as to what kind of a teammate he really is.

Honestly I think Ference played fantastic for the playoffs other than a few games and in those games Boychuk sucked too.

I have decided a healthy Ference is an asset. I am not convinced he should be anchoring the second pairing, but he came up big several times in the playoffs. I honestly think his goal and the finger are when the Habs series turned into the Bruins favor. Kind of like I think the Rome hit on Horton in the Canucks series are when the Canucks started to lose, I think Ference’s goal and his finger to the fans are when the Habs started to lose the series.

I have also come to realize that Ference is one of those veteran voices of leadership in the lockerroom.

Barring some kind of spectacular trade deal, I suspect Ference may end up receiving Recchi’s A when the new season starts.